Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin

SpecialK

kelloggs - my husband is Air Force and a buddy of his gave me this name many years ago - a la Maverick in Top Gun!  It is definitely better than another friend of theirs - his call sign is K-Y!

SpecialK

kelloggs - my husband is Air Force and a buddy of his gave me this name many years ago - a la Maverick in Top Gun!

Amelie_Rose

Thank you to everyone who answered my question about the timing for hormonal theraphy.  I'll wait until I start radiation, I think. 

Congratulations, Tonlee, Matthew and MizMarie!  So many of us with wonderful milestones!

Welcome, LotsofFaith! We are sorry you have to join us.  Chemo is doable.  If I can do it, anyone can.  When you are in the midst of if, it seems like it will last forever; but before you know it, you are done and you start feeling yourself again. You'll get through it.  Hugs. 

nmoss1000

TonLee and iMatthew CONGRATULATIONS! I am thrilled for you both. Keep on keeping on! Still no results yet..Ton Lee I really hope your spotting is a random act of chemo pause , keep us posted.

TonLee

Nmoss,

It turned into an all out gusher!  I had to get up last night to change pads!  TMI I know, but I've NEVER had to do that.  I just took a shower and it ran out of me like a faucet set on low (happens several times a day)...I couldn't get it to stop long enough to dry off....on a funny note, imagine my drying off procedure....pad in one hand, towel in the other...lol...

Judy67

TonLee, I used to have that problem before BC.  I ended up with anemia and eventually a hysterectomy.

lago

TonLee you must keep your hair short. I love your new avatar

YaYa5

tonlee, i agree with lago.  you look adorable!

i have a somewhat personal question and i hope i don't offend anyone.  i had my herceptin only infusion last monday and i've had three radiation tx's.  what is causing the chemical smell of my urine?  is it either one of the tx's?  sorry, but i knew someone here would know the answer. 

LotsofFaith

Thanks to each of you for the encouragement and suggestions. I am so thankful to have found this website. I will let everyone know how it goes tomorrow. Good luck and God Bless to you all.

GrandmaV

YaYa5, You probably already thought of this, but Could you be dehydrated?  I read somewhere that herceptin can cause a strong odor to urine, especially if dehydrated.  Just a thought.

TonLee

Thanks Lago and Yaya.  I like it short, easy enough to care for!  But all the men in my life tell me it looks better long...lol.  Of course they don't have to maintain it!

Yaya, the only time I could really smell the Herceptin (besides during a gas attack heh) was when I wasn't drinking enough water. 

Omaz

My 'new' hair is wavy now (used to be straight) and DH keeps commenting how much he likes it.  It's a few inches long.  He didn't comment much before when it was long and straight so I think I'll keep it short for a while.  

lago

My husband doesn't comment on my hair other than it looks good. I think he's to busy lookin at my new larger boobies.   Actually he is always messing with my hair. I think he's just happy that I'm back to being me.

Omaz

lago - My daughter is always messing with my hair!

luckyjnjmom

anyone have a rash develop? Mine started on day 10 post 2nd of 4 rounds of T/C plus herceptin. Driving me crazy!!I'm using hydrocortisone cream - any other advice from those of you who've been through this?

Thanks!

Lucky

lago

Lucky any rash you get you should report to your onc. Many times it's just an allergic reaction that  benadryl might take care of it but you should check with your  onc. You should also report any rashes you get once your treatment is done too.

luckyjnjmom

Lago,

Thanks! Will do as soon as her office opens tomorrow. I hope it goes away soon - it's driving me nuts. I didn't have it after the first round. Every day is a winding road!

thanks again,

Lucky

AmyIsStrong

Yaya - I definitely noticed a strong chemical smell in my urine for about the 24 hour period after receiving Herceptin each time.  It was just about the only SE I had from i t (after chemo was over), and I really hated it (as minor as it sounds).  I drink LOTS of water, so def wasn't dehydrated. I figured it was just passing through my system.

slgarcia05

Hi Ladies.  After my Herceptin treatment, I swear I can smell a bad perm smell.  No one else does, but I do and it is awful!  Just chiming in!  Hope you are all doing well.  Thanks!

Shannon

Judy67

Help!!  I'm starting to have major panic attack about chemo.  9 days from 1st treatment and really worried about how bad I will feel on Christmas day.   I have a list started of things I need like bags of peas and lunch bags for icing my nails.  Ice chips for my mouth and biotene spray.  Claritin for the Neulasta shot.  Is there any other advice or things I shoud get.  I made the mistake of reading the thread about the bad SE's with Taxotere and I'm freaking out a little.

GrandmaV

Judy67,  I've only had 2 txs of TCH, but I can tell you it's not nearly as bad as I imagined.  I know how you feel, though.  I was scared out of my wits waiting for that first tx.  Reading about bad SE's can frighten you even more and they do happen, but not to everyone.  The ladies on this thread helped me so much to be prepared for any scenario and I found that as they said, most of the SE's are manageable if you just know what to do.  Believe me the waiting and anticipation are very difficult to deal with.  I don't know if you've seen the following two threads that have tips for chemo or not, but if not here they are:

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topic/478386?page=28#idx_815

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topic/706846?page=24#idx_698

You won't need everything on the lists, but they are very helpful.  If your treatment is Dec. 21 by Christmas day you may not be feeling too bad, yet.  My worst days have been 6-9 so far and they weren't as bad as I anticipated.  Mostly diarrhea and cramping and some nausea, but they can be managed with diet and med.  One of things I'm doing that's not on the lists is taking ginger root capsules (.5 grams)  everyday 3 days before infusion, day of, and for 3 days after.  The cancer center I go to participated in a study using this approach.  My onco said it cuts nausea by up to 40%.  You could ask your onco about it.  I think you'll find, as I did, that it's not as bad as you think it's going to be.

Laura5133388

Grandma, If you feel your worst on days 6-9, maybe you should take the ginger root tabs longer than 3 days after.

Judy, You will not get all of the SEs you read about. I also think the anticipation is the hardest. I didn't ice and didn't have trouble with nails. I would pick up some ginger ale too, there is something to ginger for nausea.

lago

Judy I felt pretty good my first 3 tx. Even my  avatar is a picture of me 2 weeks after my 4th tx at my nieces Bat Mitzvah. Many of us do really well. The anticipation is much much worse than the first tx.

Judy67

Thanks Lago, I'm hoping for the best.  GrandmaV the threads you posted are very helpful.

markat

Hi everyone I was wondering if I could join?



I'm 9 days post my first tch tx. Days 3-5 were the worst. However on day 6 I got a horrible headache and it hasn't gone away. It has dulled but it's still there. Have any of you experienced this? Thanks!

NeedtobeSTRONG

Silly question,

I am going to have my 3rd treatment next week.  I buzzed my hair a few weeks back because i was shedding like crazy.  Now i still have some hair, very thin but very noticable.  Will it all fall out?  will I be totally bald.Please tell me your experiences. Thanks..

sewingnut

After I started to shed my DH clippered it to 1/2". I lost most of it but still had hanger-oners all over my head. It was quite attractive  NOT!! I'm almost 7 mo PFC and today I'm going to have it all evened out and shaped. Not the mullet kind of girl =;0)

Markat, I also had a nagging headache with my 1st one. I think that the first chemo is such an assault on your body it takes time to calm down.

lago

NeedtobeSTRONG I never buzzed my hair. Not a great look but some of the hairs didn't fall out. I was never totally bald. To be honest I really didn't pay too much attention once the hair was mostly gone till about 1+ month PFC. If you look at my photo from 3.4.2011 you can see some  of the longer (dyed brown) hairs in front that never fell out.

GrandmaV

NeedtobeSTRONG, I'll be doing my 3rd treatment Dec. 23 and my hair is in the same condition as yours.  I have small patches of totally bald areas, but still have a lot of stubble.  Today is Day 15 past my 2nd treatment, so more of it may start going today.  Something I just noticed is my nose hairs seem to be gone.  I don't know when they left.  Other regions seem to be leaving as well.  I still have eye lashes and eyebrows for the most part though. 

lago

GrandmaV don't worry the nose hairs eventually come back. My lashes and brows thinned on chemo but didn't fall out till 5 weeks PFC. My lashes and brows are actually thinner now than on chemo. Go figure.